In Conversation with Mr. Gaurav Shinh CEO & Founder at Daas Labs

Mr. Gaurav Shinh is a techno-commercial professional with a track record of delivering value by providing data solutions that solve complex business problems & leveraging the power of AI and ML to create commercially viable solutions for his clients. He is an MBA (investment banking & corporate strategy) from the University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management. After solving data challenges across the globe for more than 22 years Mr. Gaurav Shinh started DAAS LABS, a data consultancy firm, in 2014.

Founded by Mr. Gaurav Shinh in February 2015, DAAS Labs is a hybrid company that takes advantage of the disruptive convergence of Data and Analytics Services and Platform, a company that is Servware (Services and Software) in the true sense.  Passionate about Data & Analytics, Gaurav and his team at DAAS LABS are helping their clients in areas such as Data Strategy and Digital Transformation, by providing expertise in areas such as Artificial Intelligence(AI/ML), Natural Language, Computer Vision ( both Video AI and Imaging), IoT, and Process Automation(RPA).

• What are the major Covid19 fighting technologies that will help to recreate the modern workplace to bring back employees to their offices? 

Coronavirus has made work from home a mandate and people are still worried about going back to offices. Though vaccination is becoming available new strains of Covid-19 have added to the stress. In this situation when it is safer to stay at home, technology has been a helping hand to bring normalcy back. Concepts such as virtual attendance, biometric attendance, and thermal devices that screen your temperature while you enter a   building have gained momentum and helped make the office premises safer. We are witnessing innovative applications of AI and ML-based devices in detecting if proper social distancing is being followed or if everyone is wearing face masks. These advancements have enabled us to fight the virus better and in making office places safer. 

•How Tech companies are addressing this new normal and what all are the major areas or categories seeing the greatest levels of innovation from the service providers? 

Tech companies have emerged as the biggest lifesavers in this global pandemic. India, itself has witnessed a sudden acceleration towards technology-led innovations. Currently, most tech companies are investing heavily in big data, data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Different industries have all now become part of the tech industry such as the financial and insurance sector have also adapted the use of AI and ML. Because of the pandemic, there has been an increase in the level of health awareness among people making InsurTech firms extremely popular. Insurtech companies are also helping those who are stuck abroad. Another sector that gained popularity amidst the pandemic is the Healthtech sector.  Devices such as smartwatches, and smartphones have become even smarter and an integral part of our everyday life. These devices can monitor one’s health in real-time. Earlier this year, a man’s life was saved by his apple watch because it detected an irregularity in his heartbeat and raised an alert. 

Recently, London-based DeepMind Technologies helped in giving a 3-D shape to a protein using AI-based imagery. Problems that have been bothering scientists for decades were solved using new-age technology. 

•Do you think pandemic has forced people rapidly become accustomed to technologies, and automation and contactless technology? Also, have these innovations solved some immediate problems for organizations struggling to operate? 

Definitely. One of the biggest impacts of this can be seen with respect to education. Google classrooms have been there for a while and they have been promoting it as well, but it was only during the pandemic that it got integrated into almost every school in India. Another big shift was technologies that enabled work from home. With virtual conference rooms, data security, AI, cloud computing, every industry found a way to work through the pandemic. Especially the Real estate firms, they introduced AR and VR based tours making it easier for the customers to view properties at home. All these advancements and adaptations simply lead to a conclusion that COVID-19 gave technical innovations a push that otherwise would have been moving at their own pace or even delayed. 

• Brief us DAAS Labs latest AI based Smart Solution "Meepo" for safe return in times of COVID-19 19. How will it benefit the Corporates? 

Meepo combines smart hardware and software technology with algorithms for reporting accuracy in all compliance alerts such as temperature scan, contactless attendance, and real time alerts on social distancing norms in offices, firms, and factories. Meepo is empowered by our patented Imaging Technology and offers a highly scalable solution with an affordable subscription plan, remote set up and a central dashboard that works offline also. 

Meepo’s smart hardware ensures safety at the entrance with the help of a thermal scanner and an AI-based camera setup. The thermal scanner checks the temperature of everyone entering the office premises while the camera clicks a picture and identifies it with the one in the database, and marks the attendance of the employee. Meepo can also easily work with pre-installed CCTV cameras and use their footage to ensure that everyone is wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. It raises an alert with proper norms are not being maintained. The software part of Meepo allows one to keep a tab of everything through a single control tower making access to the data easier and efficient. 

The DAAS Labs’ Covid Compliance Solution “Meepo” delves deeper into the value chain of the business and our communities rather than just providing a product that benefits just our business objective. In essence, we look to add value to our customers rather than just sell a product, which is why each solution is carefully tailored to improve customer experience and tackle real on-the-ground operational challenges. 

• How DAAS Labs' new actionable intelligence product "Scikiq", helps companies/ Organisations to transform and empowers their businesses to grow at faster pace? 

Scikiq is a business data platform that extracts data complexity from businesses and simplifies it to help transform performance and offers solutions through Actionable Intelligence resulting in business growth with value. Unlike current competition which provides either point solutions or complex platforms that become organizational nightmares, Scikiq is a Unified, Full-Service business data platform that empowers businesses to grow faster with simplified, smarter decision making. Fulfilling all data needs enterprise under one roof, enhances efficiency and ease for users through a reduction in the DATA-TO-ACTION timeframe from years and months to days. 

SciKiq helps capture data through prebuilt data connectors, perform exploratory analysis, data profiling, and modeling, generate insights through data storytelling using NLP and NLG, and gives predictive analysis using advanced AI and ML engines. 

It is a data transformative platform that helps organizations revolutionize the way they are using their data in order to make smarter business decisions and achieve better results. Scikiq acts as a one-stop-shop for all data needs across the enterprise. 

• Brief us about your journey with DAAS Labs since its inception. What are the challenges DAAS Labs faced and what is the Eureka moment for DAAS Labs?   

It was both an enthralling and challenging journey to begin. Sure, it had its ups and downs, but I must say that the time that I have spent building DAAS LABS is most certainly the best part of my professional life. Like any other entrepreneurial venture, finding the right product fit, logistical challenges, etc were all there but the main roadblock was that Data Science was a niche for a select few and was just gaining momentum. Unlike today, where data analytics, data science, Artificial Intelligence have become buzzwords, the scenario was a lot different when DAAS Labs was in its nascent stage. Only a few were aware and were talking about, the field and scope of Big Data and Data science, even as recently as five years back. It is a niche sector of Information Technology and is in a rapid developing phase. The recent pandemic has also catapulted its relevance in today's world. The best part about data analytics and AI is that they are ever-evolving. Initially, people took their time to start accepting it and seeing the benefits. 

Now everyone and every organization are using some form of Artificial Intelligence technology. Every big firm uses analytics to help streamline the data and even the government is opening up and investing in modern-day technologies. The only drawback is that each problem like capturing data or giving predictive analysis etc. uses different software or platforms. Throughout my time in the corporate setup, I myself faced a lot of discomfort going to and fro various platforms for the different data analysis needed for various business decisions. This is when the idea struck me of what if there was a single platform that provides all the solutions together in the most user-friendly form. This idea led to the birth of SciKiq, which streamlines all your data, simplifies, analyses it, and even generates insights according to your needs and today I am happy to say that we are saving a lot of time, manpower, stress from getting lost between multiple platforms and most importantly huge chunks of expenses for our client across industries.